Family farming and sustainability in the Legal Amazon

A report from the Amazon 2030 project indicates that the Legal Amazon region holds 66% of Brazil’s family farming settlements and 88% of its agrarian reform settlement areas. The report highlights that approximately 480,000 families reside across 33 million hectares of traditional settlements. It also notes significant economic risks, with agricultural losses averaging nearly R$ 6 billion annually between 2021 and 2024 due to environmental factors like droughts, floods, and fires. Furthermore, only 9% of family farmers in the Northern Region have accessed technical assistance or rural credit.

In response to such vulnerabilities, the Amazon Fund has approved R$ 34.6 million for the ‘Amazônia Agroecológica’ project. Managed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, this 48-month initiative aims to promote sustainable production, food security, and forest conservation in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. The project is expected to impact 2,600 families, including indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, and land reform settlers, by fostering community-led projects and strengthening climate resilience.